title: Red blood cell storage: how long is too long?
abstract: Red blood cells (RBCs) undergo biochemical and structural changes during storage, commonly referred to as the "storage lesion." Evidence suggests that the longer the RBC product is stored, the less effective is the transfused blood. Many studies linking morbidity to transfusion have not considered duration of RBC storage as a variable that may modulate the effect. In addition, the effects of supply and demand and RBC inventory management strategies have been incompletely investigated. It is possible to envision a blood management system based on modern inventory management strategies that could greatly reduce storage duration.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Anesthesia, Heart and Vascular Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio. Electronic address: kochc@ccf.org.
authors.forename: Colleen G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Koch
authors.forename: Priscilla I
authors.initials: PI
authors.lastname: Figueroa
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Joseph F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Sabik
authors.forename: Tomislav
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Mihaljevic
authors.forename: Eugene H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Blackstone
mesh_terms: D001793:Blood Preservation / Q000592:standards*; D017707:Erythrocyte Transfusion / Q000009:adverse effects; D004912:Erythrocytes; D006801:Humans; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: 18